In this video I'm going to give you nine tips on how you can minimize the chance
of getting seasick. I'm Gary Bembridge of Tips For Travellers and I've been on way over
50 cruises and, so far, I have not been seasick by following these 9 tips. The
first tip that I've got is do not psych yourself. Do not wind yourself up and
believe that you're going to get seasick. Many people that get seasick have got
themselves into such a frenzy that they keep thinking about it. They worry
about it and they almost bring it upon themselves and then every little motion, every
little thing will make them think they're gonna get seasick. So don't psych
yourself up, have a positive attitude and believe that you are not going to get
seasick. That is the first and most important thing that you can do. The
second thing that you can do is avoid routes and itineraries when it's most
likely to be rough. So for example crossing the Atlantic in the winter
months you are very likely to have very rough seas. I've done this a couple of times
you've had 50 to 60 foot waves and it's been very rough. Other things to avoid
are things like the Bay of Biscay sailing out of Southampton as that is
renowned for being rough, and causing a lot of people to be seasick. Another
renowned area for rough seas is Drake's Passage heading to Antarctica. Avoid
cruises which have a lot of back-to-back sea days because there is a chance if
you're at sea for a long time that could make you feel seasick. You'll find that
at the beginning and the end of a cruising in any particular region,
whether it's a Caribbean or the Mediterranean, that's when you are more likely to
have rougher seas. So how do you find out areas or routes that are likely
to have smoother seas? Of course, there's no guarantee that the sea is
going to be smooth but by choosing these times of the year you're going to
maximize your chance, so for example the Mediterranean season if you go right in
the middle of the season (which is July/ August time) you should have
smoother seas or in the middle of the Caribbean season (so that's around about sort of
Christmas time) you are likely to have smoother seas, sailing right within the
depths of the Norwegian fjords, sailing right within the depths of Inside
Passage in Alaska. Now if you want to absolutely maximize your chance of not
being seasick, then the one thing to do is to go on a river cruise. You're
sailing up and down rivers. You're close to the banks at all times and it is pretty
much near impossible to be seasick on a river cruise. So once you've
chosen the right itinerary, the third thing to focus on is the cabin. The best
cabin to choose on a cruise ship is midship in the centre of the ship and
as low down as possible. The reason for that is as the ship moves it moves
on an axis, so right in the middle is where there is the least movement.
I've been on cruises where I've had a cabin midships and had
friends who are at the back of the ship and we've been passing through very
rough seas. We hadn't really seen very much in our cabin but we went to the back to
see our friends and we could barely stand up
the ship was moving so much. So midships as low down as possible is
absolutely key. The fourth thing is come prepared, and what I mean by that is
come prepared with seasick tablets. You can buy these at the pharmacist or
the drugstore and you generally buy them behind the counter, so you have to ask
the pharmacist for them. You don't need a prescription for them. These are really
important. What I recommend you do is aim to take them for the first 48
hours of cruise until you get your sea legs. It's a really good idea. It's kind
of an insurance policy even if you don't need them. If you're in the United
States or Canada then brand names to look out for include Dramamine or Bonine. If
you're in the UK or Europe the product is called Sturgeon or Stunarone.
I've used both of those products (both Dramamine and
Sturgeon) and they have been fantastic. You normally have to take them a
day before or even a couple of hours before you cruise.
They're almost like an insurance policy. They may make you feel a little bit
drowsy so do look for the non-drowsy versions, but certainly they
are likely to give you the greatest chance of not being seasick. Most cruise
lines will offer complimentary seasickness pills, but it's worth
bringing your own products so you know that you've taken them advance and
you've ensured that you are all fine. My fifth tip is for people
who don't want to take products that you ingest. There are a couple of
remedies and solutions that people use and have found very successful which do
not require you actually swallowing anything. One of the more popular
ones are patches which you put behind your ear. You'll often see on a cruise
ship a lot of people with little patches behind their ear. A lot of people swear by those.
The other thing that people do are little wrist bands and these are little
cloth wrist bands that have little metal discs which push on your wrist to
provide a kind of an acupressure, and that's a quite a known technique for
trying to prevent seasickness. Certainly worth trying if you don't want to take
any sort of pills. My next tip is to actually use the product that seafarers
have used for basically ever, and that's ginger. Ginger was used before
pills were discovered and ginger is really known to settle
seasickness, settle the stomach and make you feel much better. You'll find on
many cruise ships they will actually offer bits of ginger around the ship,
particularly at the bars or at the dining rooms. Eat ginger and drink ginger
ale. My seventh tips is to avoid triggers, so things that can basically spark a
feeling of nauseous. These can be things like very strong smells, very
strong smelling food, drinking lots of alcohol and another of those is reading. So
if you're reading a book or you looking at something on your phone
or tablet, staring at one space is a really bad thing to do because it can
make you feel motion sickness and seasick.The thing to do is, if you are
reading, is to read a little paragraph and look up. Basically don't just keep
staring down at one thing. So try and avoid those triggers. The next thing I
recommend you do is make sure that you get outside into the fresh air as much
as possible. Get outside on the decks. Take in the fresh air. Also very
important is take a look at the horizon and try and look forward on the ship rather
than to the side. But get out in the fresh air as it will make you feel much
better. Now if all of that fails and if you do start feeling sick and you are
actually nauseous and throwing up many of those things that have told
you to do will not work! So what you do get
yourself down to the medical center and have a jab. They have an incredible
injection which will pretty much knock you out for a few hours.
You'll have a good old sleep and wake up and you will feel fantastic. The
downside of that it can be very expensive, it can be around about a
Us $100 to have that jab. I've been on cruises with people who've been
extremely seasick, throwing up and feeling absolutely terrible, and they've had the jab,
had a good old sleep and then are ready to party, eat and have a great time. So
that is your final fallback solution. If you've got any more tips, I'd love to
hear them. Please leave a comment and let me know what you do to try and avoid
seasickness and what's worked for you. The thing
I'd really like you to do, of course, is to give the video a "like" and please
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